


Floating

by Phoebe_Snow



Series: Your Touch is Like Magic [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, First Dance, Floating - Freeform, Fluff, Fluff and Mush, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Imagine your OTP, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Rare Pairings, Romantic Fluff, True Love, Wanda is always aged up in my Winterwitch fics, What-If, these two are freaking cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23046583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebe_Snow/pseuds/Phoebe_Snow
Summary: Wanda and James have their first dance.
Relationships: James "Bucky' Barnes/Wanda Maximoff
Series: Your Touch is Like Magic [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1027895
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Floating

**Author's Note:**

> I’m just going to refer to Bucky as James from now on because my Winterwitch stories are always in his or Wanda's point of view. So unless it’s a non-Winterwitch story or in another character's point of view and they’re calling him "Bucky", "Barnes" or "Sergeant", he will be called James in all of my stories.

* * *

Wanda didn’t have to hear James say that he hated heights because she could sense the fear in his mind any time they were on top of a tall building or near a cliff. This fear was attributed to his fall from the Hydra train in the forties.

People said time heals all wounds, but James' situation was incredibly different. He’d been a tortured, brainwashed assassin by HYDRA for decades. All of the sessions he had with Wanda that locked away the Winter Soldier persona and the trigger words that awakened him couldn’t change that. So how was it possible for time to help?

It didn’t take long for Wanda to come up with a solution. She cared for James and she knew he felt the same way towards her. They’d spent many hours together and gotten to know one another quite well. He was quiet like her, but he always became animated whenever he was in her presence.

She was good for him. The Avengers all agreed on that. Even Clint said Wanda had a healthy affect on James. Although he did so grudgingly because he didn’t approve of how close the two had become. Wanda couldn’t be bothered by that. Yes, she loved Clint like a father and appreciated his concern, but she wasn't eighteen. She was a grown woman who could make her own choices about her life.

Everyone else was off doing their own thing and the complex was almost empty. Steve and Natasha were the only other people in the building. Neither James nor Wanda saw them, so they figured their friends were spending some intimate time alone.

Wanda and James ordered a pizza and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding in the living room. The couch was big enough to seat four people, but Wanda sat close by James, leaning her head on his shoulder. In return, his arm wrapped around her and they stayed in that position until the movie ended.

James stood up and stretched a bit, the muscles flexing in an appealing way as he did so. She looked at his movements carefully and felt her cheeks warm. He had an attractive physique and she'd have been lying if she said she didn’t check him out sometimes.

"Do you want to look at another movie?" He looked at her inquisitively.

"No. I’d actually like to dance with you." 

James chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, it’s been a long time since I last danced, Wan."

"I'm sure you’ll be just as good as you were in the forties." She got up and held out her hand. "Please?" Normally, Wanda didn’t use her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. That wasn’t in her character, but she couldn’t stop herself from sending him a dazzling smile and looking at him from under her eyelids.

The man hesitated, but he returned her smile and accepted her hand. "How can I refuse you?"

"You’re not supposed to," she quipped and they laughed at her comeback.

He placed his hands on her waist and she positioned hers on his shoulders. The weight of his mechanical arm was heavy on her body, but she was used to the pressure and it wasn’t uncomfortable. For a while, James felt awkward touching her with his arm for fear of harming her, but she assured him that she was fine with it.

Of course, when they had just started getting to know each other, she had to ease him into using his arm to interact with her. Many times she had to initiate it. For instance, she’d take his hand in the middle of a conversation, she’d trace her fingers on the gold designs, fascinated by the marksmanship of it.

Wanda's compliments often made James blush and seeing the red coloring in his cheeks gave her pleasure. There was just something delightful about catching him off-guard with her praise. Being around him brought it out of her to the point that it was natural. 

James' steps were a little halting and he grumbled. "I’m rusty."

"Stop." She swatted his shoulder lightly. "You’re fine. A little practice and I bet you’ll start remembering all of those smooth moves you made back in the day."

"You’re expecting me to glide you across the floor?"

"In time, yes. You've told me how much you enjoyed dancing and from the way your face lit up whenever you talk about it, I believe you have a dancer's soul. That kind of thing doesn’t leave you easily. The human body is capable of remembering many things. All you have to do is reawaken it."

"You've got a lot of faith in me."

"Why wouldn’t I? I know you after all." Wanda stroked the back of his neck with her thumb and felt a twinge of glee when his pupils dilated as he looked at her.

"Okay, doll." He winked and she could tell he was starting to relax.

For several minutes, they stayed like that, gently swaying together in the living room. It was spacious enough that they didn’t have to go someplace else for more room. Wanda let her head rest on James' shoulder and her hands moved upwards to the back of his neck.

This action brought their bodies closer. Wanda could feel the beat of James' heart against hers and reveled in it. She loved being near to him. It made her feel safe and happy.

Using her powers, she allowed the scarlet billows to whirl around them and make them rise in the air. She didn’t make them go too high, just a couple of feet. Wanda had used her powers to lift her teammates and enemies to either push them away or move them up, but she’d never done anything like this.

Holding an actual person in her arms while keeping them afloat with her magic was different, but she liked it. It took more of her focus, but it wasn’t a strain on her abilities, merely a learning curve for her. 

James was so caught up in the dance that he hadn’t noticed they weren’t on solid ground anymore. It wasn’t until he opened his eyes to look at his partner that he realized they were closer to the ceiling. He tensed up and she felt a wave of nervousness come over him.

"What are you doing?" His voice cracked and he looked at her, confused.

She met his gaze. "Making us float. I’ve got you, James, don’t worry. I’d never let you fall."

He shuddered a little and his eyes went downward to the floor. It wasn’t too high up and even though he felt his heart pumping hard against his chest, perspiration forming on his palms, but he knew that he was safe with her. So he forced himself to breath evenly.

Wanda watched him carefully. "If you want me to bring us back down, I can."

"No! Don’t. I-I like this." He gave her a half smile. 

"I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you if it’d be okay." She mentally kicked herself for being impulsive.

James placed his hand under her chin and held her face up so their eyes met again. "There's nothing to apologize for, Wanda. You’ve done a lot to help me over the past year. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. It’s just...heights and all." His voice trailed off, but she understood.

Her hand touched his cheek gently and he leaned into her caress. "I know. That’s why I did this. I wanted to help you feel better about them. This seemed to be the easiest way."

The man glanced down at the ground and let out a soft chuckle. They weren’t that high above the ground, probably eight or nine feet. Wanda's powers had developed considerably in her time as an Avenger, so he knew there was no way she would lose control and drop them. 

She was also quite easy on the eyes.

"Oh, really? You’ve never said that to me before, but I think you’re easy on the eyes too."

James started at her words and realized that his thoughts must have been too loud and Wanda heard that last one clearly. He felt a rush of warmth on his neck. Damn. He usually kept good rein of the volume of his thoughts, but he slipped this time. Maybe it was a good thing since she felt the same way.

"You think I look good?" He could’ve said something a bit more refined, but he needed to hear her say it again.

"Of course. Have you seen yourself in the bathroom mirror? You’re a very handsome man, James, but it’s not just your face that makes you attractive. Your personality is a big part of it. You’re always respectful to me and you listen to everything I say even when you’re tired or not enthusiastic about it. You always spend time with me and you make me feel like I'm someone special."

Wanda bit her lip and James stared at her, not sure how to respond to that. For a while they were silent as they continued swaying with each other. She wanted to say something else, but made herself be patient and wait until he spoke. No doubt, he had to gather his thoughts after hearing her confession.

"I didn’t know I meant that much to you." His voice was so quiet that she almost didn’t catch it.

"You do. I'm glad I've been able to help you with the HYDRA programming, but getting to know you has also been a privilege. I..." She looked at her feet before looking back at him, face resolute and determined. "I have strong feelings for you, James."

He smiled at that and held her closer, taking her hand in his. "I'm not good with big speeches and things like that, but I've thought about you a lot since we first met. Well, before that. Back in Berlin, when you stopped T'Challa from putting his claws in me and sent him flying, I was impressed."

"Seriously?" She remembered doing that, but her mind had been on the battle and protecting her comrades if they were in trouble and she was nearby. Once she saved James, she moved on to something else.

"Yeah. And when you held that tower from falling on me and Steve, I thought you were amazing. I was also a little cowed too. Just the idea of a person with that much ability was intriguing, but scary. That’s why I was apprehensive about you for some time."

"Oh, I know. You used to tense up around me, but Steve told me about your past before we met, so I understood why someone like me would unnerve you. I’m glad you managed to get comfortable in my presence. At the risk of sounding mushy, I think you and I are kindred spirits."

James entwined his fingers with hers. "That doesn’t sound mushy at all because I feel the same way about you."

  
  
"It's nice to know I’m not alone." Wanda's eyes sparkled in joy and she rested her head on his shoulder as they danced.

What a blessing that after they'd both suffered so much, they found each other. Healing James' broken mind brought them together as friends and now, their relationship was becoming something sweeter. Wanda wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world and she couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store.


End file.
